A chinchillas’ cage should be “cleaned-up” daily and, more thoroughly cleaned and disinfected weekly. Food and water “dishes” need to be cleaned every day; one option would be to do this in the morning, before you put in his basic food (pellets) for the day. Water bottles and food dishes need cleansing with soapy hot water followed by a through rinsing.
Many types of water bottles and food dishes can be placed in the dishwasher, this will clean and disinfect these items very well, just be sure to read the manufacturers instructions regarding this; if you do not see this information, there is usually a phone number or Web-site provided
You may soak water bottles, tubes and nozzles in bleach water to disinfect them as well. Remember though BE SURE to thoroughly rinse them after soaking; any bleach residue can make your pet very ill or even cost him his life. Water bottlesand food dishes that are not cleaned regularly can cause serious health problems for your chinchilla. Bacteria can grow quickly in an unclean bowl or water bottle and in turn cause a bacterial infection to grow in this animal’s delicately balanced system.
When doing your weekly cleaning and disinfecting of your chinchillas’ cage you will need to wipe down the entire cage, paying special attention to the litter pan. One very affective as well as inexpensive cleaning agent is bleach. Use ¾ cup of the bleach for every gallon of water. Again, as mentioned above, be very careful to rinse everything you’ve washed using this bleach mixture. Other types of cleaners work equally well just be sure to follow the recommended dilution and rinse very, very well.
No matter the size of your cage, a five-gallon bucket with any diluted disinfectant should work well. If using bleach, though, use extra caution to avoid getting it on anything that you do not want ruined; bleach will not only discolor but can “eat through ” almost any kind of material or surface. If working inside, lay down a tarp, plastic sheeting or some kind of thick blanket that you don’t mind being marked-up or discolored.
If possible, take the cage outside to be cleaned as this will make the job all the easier and greatly reduce the chance of anything of value getting accidentally damaged. Unless you have a “chinchilla sitter” to watch over your pet as you clean his cage, you will need something to put him in until you are finished. Another, smaller, holding-cage would be ideal but it is not imperative that you have one. Whatever you use, just be sure that it’s safe, can comfortably hold him, something that you won’t mind possibly being chewed or used as a “bathroom”, or that he can get out of.